Zoe E. Baird Quotes

Being attorney general has truly allowed me to be a voice for justice for the people of Illinois and oftentimes the country - and I love it.

As attorney general I see my role as defender both of press freedom and of the fair administration of justice.

Any attorney general who is not an activist is not doing his or her job.

The Solicitor General is responsible neither to the man who appointed him [the President] nor to his immediate superior [the Attorney General.] The Solicitor General has no master to serve except his country.

The administration of government, like a guardianship ought to be directed to the good of those who confer, not to those who receive the trust.

The Administration of Government, is nothing else but the Attendance of the Trustees of the People upon the Interest and Affairs of the People

Though the Attorney General of the United States carries many responsibilities and undertakes many tasks, there can be none more important than the pursuit of civil rights on behalf of all the people of this country.

The Attorney General of the United States is, of course, not the president's lawyer. The AG is supposed to be the attorney for the United States, protecting the rule of law.

I am running for Attorney General because I believe there is no higher calling than the pursuit of justice.

When I was attorney general, we had the strongest public integrity unit in the country.

As attorney general, I have a duty to defend the laws and constitution of the State of Missouri.

I don't get paid to serve the president. I get paid to serve the public and what I think is in the interest of justice, no matter who the president is.

Remember the attorney general is not a member of the president's staff. He's the attorney general of the United States. He's there to represent all of us, and it means all the laws have to be enforced fairly. And you can't bring your individual prejudices in there.

All I want to do is be the best attorney general that I can be.

I always received much more satisfaction as a defense attorney in obtaining an acquittal for a client than I ever have as a D.A. in obtaining a conviction. All my interests and sympathies tend to be on the side of the individual as opposed to the state.

Stand up and pledge with me: A government of the United States is not on the auction block. And America is not for sale!

We're talking about the lawyers for the United States of America. And I think it's very, very important that the lawyers be comfortable being very candid and open about their views on very sensitive issues affecting the United States.

The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.

There are a whole variety of reasons I want to be attorney general, a whole variety of things that I do as attorney general that go beyond national security.

The responsibility of the attorney general is to change things and bring us closer to the ideals expressed in our founding documents.

Isn’t that a sweetheart deal. The Attorney General is appointed by the President; then investigates the President.

It is a very great misfortune that persons employed in the most important Departments should ... have separate interests from the publick whom they profess to serve.

We believe that all governments necessarily require civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the same; and that such as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people.

Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and trustees are created for the benefit of the public.

Public officers are the trustees of the people.